Recoil operated firearm



April 17, 1951 v. s. BLACKER 2,549,152

REcoIL OPERATED FIREARM Filed June 15, 1944 a sheets-sheet 1 1 v. s. BLACKER 2,549,162

8 Sheets-Sheet 2 RECOIL OPERATED FIRE'ARM April 17, 1951 Filed June 15, 1944 April 17, 1951 L. v. s. BLACKER macon. OPERATED FIREARM 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June l5, 194A Inventor April 17, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June l5 Inventor Q mv T Q S .6% .QQ vw mw E ww IIIl-Inlll Il .Inf l I 1 l lmh 5 Owl VL... 1 1:11 I l Nfl llllllllllll t mm mw ww n Vw ww ww uw ww SEL/96%? April 17, 1951 v. s. BLACKER REcoIL OPERATED FIREARM 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June l5, 1944 April 17, 1951 L. v. s. BLAcKl-:R 5499162 RECOIL OPERATED FIREARM Filed June 15, 1944 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Inventor La'Hwam V S. Blacker By M W A ltorney April 17, 1951 1 v. s. BLACKER RECOIL OPERATED FIREARM 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed June l5, 1944 Fla/4 Inventor La+Aam V s. lmker ttorney Patented Apr. 17, 1951 UIN-iran STA g 'TNT iOFFlCE Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker, Fittleworth, England `Application June 15, 1944, Serial No. 540,491 In Great Britain June 18, 1943 This invention relates to breech-loading guns or1-missileprojectors of the kind usually known as semi-automatic in that after being fired they are automatically recocked.

Invsuch weapons it is advantageous to mount both the breech block and barrel to slide relatively to a xed casing and to one another upon release from cocked positions in which they are independently held, so that they are both dynamic, that is to say, move rapidly forwards in order to re the weapon and to make the firing take ,place before the end of the run-out stroke. As a result, the kinetic energy of all the forwardly moving parts is used to absorb part of the recoil forces and a further part is absorbed during the return stroke in storing up energy in a recuperative device, which is usually a spring but may be, for example, a compressed gas, by which the -breech block is driven vforward again on the next tring stroke. In weapons so constructed there are usually separate recuperative devices for both the breech block and barrel, and theextent of the travel of the parts is limited by the disposition of these devices.

I aim Yat obtaining substantial absorption of the recoil forces by the kinetic energy of the forwardly moving parts with a, relatively low maximum recoil thrust. For this purpose the'moving parts must have along recoil, and the 'usual objection to this is that the overall length of theV weapon is increased. By my invention'I attain my object without having to make the overall length large.

In weapons constructed as described, the

breech block and barrel must be locked together at the moment of firing in order that the breech block, which, of course, directly takes the recoil force when the weapon is red, may initiate the rearward movement of the barrel. Hitherto the locking mechanisms used have necessitated lengthening the breech block to accommodate them and so have led to the overall length of the weapon beinglonger than it otherwise need be. In a weapon of given characteristics any reduction in the overall length is highly desirable. In addition the impact forces involved are considerable, and it is 'not simple to provide a mechanism which will engage without diliculty during the run-out stroke and yet will withstand the stresses well. l My invention will Vbe most clearly understood by the following description of the preferred form of gun, which will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of the gun and of a missile about to be loaded into it;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section with the parts in the cocked position; Y

Figure 2a is a continuation of Figure 2;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the parts in the fully run-out position; 5

Figure 3a is a continuation of Figure 3;

Figures 4 and 5 are sectionsvon the lines IV-f IV and V-V in Figures v-2 and 3 respectively;

Figures 4a and 5a are continuations of Figures 4 and 5 respectively;

Figure 6 is a section on thelines VI'-VI of Figure 3, the breech Vblock having been omitted for clarity. v

lFig-ure 7 isa section along the line VII- VII o Figure 3.

Figure 8 shows the breech block on a larger scale;

Figure 10 is a section on the line X-X in Figure A9.

Figures 11 and 12 area plan and an elevation respectively of the breech tube; y y Y Figure 13 is a plan of the .mechanism which locks the breech tube to the barrel; and

is fav -section :on the line IX-IX- in y Figure 14 is a detailed elevation ofthe mech-Y l anism for checking the forward movement vof the breech tube and The parts of the gun that may be regarded'as l stationary during the iiring operation include a breech casing I ffurnishedwith -a butt orJshoul'- der piece 2 and slotted as shown 3 so that a mis-` sile 4 in the form of a bomb can be loaded at .the breech. A pistol -grip 5 is fixed to the casing I and a trigger 6 isconnected to a rod 'I which can bear on a member 8 that is rigid with a rearward cooking sear 9 whichis engaged by a spring I0 carried in the butt 2. Both the trigger rod I and the sear 9 passthrougha back plate I I.

A breech block I2 with which a forwardly projecting Ytube I3 is rigid is held by the `rearward sear `9 in the cocked-position, the scar vlatching undel` a bent I4, Vand the breech block slides Within the casing I during the ring operation.

The barrel I5 of the gun extends within the breech tube I3 and also slides i'n the 'casing 'I during the ring operation, that is to say, the

breech block vand barrel `are both slidable rela` tively to the breech casing.` At its rearward fend the barrel is formed with a skirt 22 and at its dust cover I8 xed to the end of the'barrel.V Part of the springI I 5, which `serves to run out the barrel, lies within the breech block tube I3 and the dust cover I8 vextends rearwardly suflicientlyy to protect theremainder 'of the spring I6 at all times. The tube I3 is slotted twice as 'shownvat I9 over the greater vpart of its length so that it consists essentially lof two part-cylindrical arms united together at each end. These slots I9 serve several purposes; they allow the tube to pass the stops I'I, they provide spaces through which lugs 26 can project outwards from the barrel skirt 22 and they allow the missile to be inserted in the breech chamber.

The barrel I is held against the action of the springY I6 in the cocked position by two forward sears 2,0, one on each vside of the gun, which en gage the forward shoulder of the skirt 22. Each sear is recessed at its rearward end to receive the enlarged head of a lever 5U, pivoted at 5I and formed with a cam surface 52 which is struck by a projection 53 on the breech block tube I3 and then movesoutward, carrying the sear 20 with it. Thus the breech` block in its` forward movement releases the barrel, which thereupon moves forward under the action both of the spring I6 and of the breech block itself. A

The breech block is run out by springs 23, which are of such strength that they move the block faster than the barrel is moved by the spring I6. These springs 23 bear at one end on the back plate I I and at the other end on lateral brackets 24 rigid with the breech block tube I3, and they are housed in lateral compartments 25 of the casing I.

When the weapon is to be fired, movement of the trigger 6 trips the cooking sear 9, so that the breech block is run out by the springs 23. In the travel of the breech block the projections 53 strike the cam surfaces 52 of the sears 20 land trip them, so that the barrel is also run out by the spring I6. As the springs 23 are relatively stronger than the springs I6, and the breech block has considerable forward velocity before the barrel begins to move, the barrel is almost immediately struck by the breech block, which thus helps to drive it forward.

In the course of the forward stroke the block and barrel may advantageously be automatically locked together, e. g. by means of one or more wedge or like members which are positively moved inwards into a locking position, in order that the block (which, of course, directly takes the recoil force when the weapon is fired) may initiate the rearward movement of the barrel. This lock is released during the return stroke at a point at lwhich the barrel already has enough kinetic energy to continue its movement into the recocking position.

In the gun illustrated, this locking is effected by two wedge members 15, diametrically opposed t0 one another. Each wedge member engages between two forward lugs on the breechr block tube I3 and a single rearward lug 26 on the barrel skirt 22. The lugs on the breech-block tube are formed by making transverse slots 28 in the edges of the arms of the breech-block tube, the forward edges of these slots forming shoulders which act as the breech-block lugs. During the forward movement of the breech block and -barrelit is immaterial whether there is a positive lock longitudinally between the two, so some end play may-be allowed between the wedge members 'I5 and the lugs formed by the walls of the slots 28. This is advantageous because it allows the wedge members to enter the gap between the lugs Without difficulty as the parts move forward. Each wedge member 'I5 is carried by an arm 29 which is fixed to a cross-pin 30 which can rock in a bearing 3| on a reinforcement 32 on the barrel. Each Wedge member is positively moved inwards into the locking position during the Arun-out of the weapon by engagement with a part carried by the casing I. This action is effected by the nose of a lever 6I which is pivoted by means of a pivotally mounted supporting sleeve at 62 through which the rod 69 slidably extends and is rocked inwards about its pivot by a striker 63 which is pivoted at 64 and sub- Y jected to the action of a spring 65. This striker is engaged by the reinforcement 32 of the barrel as the latter is run out and knocks the nose 60 of the lever 6I inwards so that it is moved into the path of the roller 33 on the end of wedge member 'I5 whereby the forward movement of the roller, which is moving with the barrelassembly, causes it to be forced inwards so that in turn the arm 29 is moved inwardly about its pivot.

It may happen that the barrel tends to move forwards too fast relatively to the breech block".Y I n order to slow up the barrel in such a case retarding springs 69 are provided and are arranged surrounding the levers 6I and interposed between their heads and their pivot sleeves 62 so that the' levers will move with the'barre'l against the action of the springs and retard the barrel. Since the rods are slidable in the pivotally supported sleeves 62, they may slide as well as rock when the barrel reinforcement strikes the noses 6 of the rods. If the barrel is moving forward too fast relatively to the breech block assembly, when the end of the lever 6I is moved inwards to engage the roller 33, the lever 6I will be caused to slide forward through the collar 62 against the' action of the spring 69, thus retarding the forward movement of the roller to allow the breech blockrto catch up with the barrel assembly, when` the wedges 'I5 will be forced inwards into the slots 28.

The weapon is lnow fired. The precise means by which the firing is effected are not material. to the present invention, but in the gun shown inv the drawings the positive inward movement ofl' the upper wedge arm 29 is used to actuate the ring mechanism. This wedge arm has an inwardlyprojecting nose 54 which trips a firing' sear 31 carried in a sear holder 3B and so allows a firing pin 35 to be driven forwards by a spring 36. The firing pin is rigid with the cooking bent I4 and in the cocked position the nose of the sear 3l engages it through a slot 39 in the body 40 of the breech block. Since the rods 6I are slidable in the pivotally supported sleeves 62, they may slide as well as rock when the barrel reinforcement strikes the noses 60 of the rods. If the barrel is moving too fast, the rods will not only be rocked but will slide through the pivoted sleeves against the action of the springs 69, which will produce a braking effect.

The explosive force produced when the weapon is fired acts on the face of the breech block, with the immediate result that any lost motion between the Wedge members 'I5 and the walls of the slots 28` is taken up, and the block and barrel move backwards together. movement of the breech block backwards relatively to the barrel, the cartridge case may movev backwards from the barrel under the force of the explosive gases. Support must therefore be given to the cartridge case, and this is afforded by the inner Wall of the barrel skirt 22. The forward end of the breech block I2 constitutes a spigotlike part which projects telescopically into the skirt `22, as clearly shown in Figure 8, so as to form a chamber within which the cartridge case can move with its wall supported by the wall of the skirt. The lost motion provided by the play between the wedge members and lugs is again ad- During the initial smallV vantageous, as it allows some absorption of the recoil forces to take place before the breech block begins to move the barrel backwards and so reduces the immediate impact stresses. t is also advantageous that when the lost motion is taken up the lugs 26 make direct contact with the wedge members 75, which in turn make direct contact with the lugs formed by the edges of the slots 28, so that the stresses are directly transmitted to these parts. When the parts have travelled backn wards over some distance the wedge members are moved out of the locking position by the engagement of rollers 33 mounted on the ends of the wedge mmbers 'E5 with obliquely slanting forward ends of ramps @e rigid with the casing i. The wedge members are thus positively lifted out of the locking position and thereafter' the block is free to move rearwards independently of the barrel and will in fact more out of contact with the barrel. Its movement continues until it is caught and held by the cooking sear 9. To damp its final rearward movement a buffer spring t2 is Xed in the tail of the block to come into contact with the face of the plate li. The barrel is caught by the forward sear 28. :To ensure that this recocking cannot be prevented by pres.- sure on the trigger a projection il is provided on the rod in the path of a projection 6l on the breech block so that the rod 7, which is located within a bulged part of the casing l, is rocked radially outwards against a spring as the breech block is returned to cocked position, and so enables the cooking sear 9 to return to the position in which it can catch the breech block. In the cocked position this projection d! is clear of the projection 6l. When the breech block runs back to its limit, the hooked nose of the cooking sear 9 engages with the bent le. The breech block, which is the casing for the firing pin and its spring, is then urged forward by the very powerful breech block springs 23, which overcome the small firing spring 36, compress it, and thus retract the firing pin.

Both the block and barrel are thus recocked, that is to say, the weapon automatically opens its own breech for loading, and the cycle is complete.

The extent to which the kinetic energy of the barrel is effectively utilised in absorbing part of the recoil forces depends, of course, upon the relative weights and disposition of the parts. Even if the kinetic energy ofthe barrel is not effectively utilised, the invention, as exemplified bythe gun illustrated, includes the combination in a weapon of a body, a breech block movable relatively to a breech casing and a barrel movable relatively to both the breech block and the breech casing, the breech block being positively locked to the barrel at the moment of firing and both .the locking and unlocking being automatically efected by movement of the barrel relatively to the body.

I claim:

1. In a semi-automatic weapon comprising a xed casingY and an assembly slidable in the casing between a rearward cocked position and a forward iiring position, said assembly comprising a barrel and a breech block movable relative thereto, a forward extension rigid with said breech block and extending telescopically over said barrel,-forward lug-forming means on said extension, rearward lug-forming means carried by said barrel, latch means mounted outside and movable with said assembly to move radially inwards between said forward and rearward lugforming means, and means for causing radial movement of said latch means into latching position during forward movement of said assembly.

2. A semi-automatic weapon as dened in claim 1, in which said forward lug-forming means is vconstituted by the forward wall of a lateral slot made in said extension.

3. A semi-automatic weapon as defined in claim 1 in which said extension is slotted to receive said rearward lug-forming means.

4. A semi-automatic weapon as defined in claim 1 in which said latch means lis mounted on the barrel. i

5. A semi-automatic weapon as dened in claim 1 in which said movement causing means are carried by the casing to act on latch means in cam fashion.

6. A semi-automatic weapon as defined in claim l in which rollers which are carried on said latch means are engaged by ramps rigid with the casing during rearward movement of said barrel assembly, to effect unlocking of said breech block and said barrel assembly.

7. In a semi-automatic weapon comprising a fixed casing and an assembly slidable in the casing between a rearward cocked position, and a forward firing position, said assembly comprising a barrel and a breech block movable relative thereto, and said assembly being adapted to absorb a substantial part ofthe recoil energy desuch size as to provide lost motion between the breech-block and barrel, when entered between said forward and rearward lug forming means.

LATHAM VALENTINE STEWART` BLACKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 678,937 Browning July 23, 1901 918,760 Mauser Apr. 20, 1909 1,039,922 Frommer Oct. 1, 1912 1,073,709 Revelli Sept. 23, 1913 1,518,498 Furrer Dec. 9, 1924 2,016,646Y Mancini Oct. 8, 1935 2,050,538 K Moore Aug. 11,1936 2,135,005 'Hoagland et al Nov. 1, 1938 2,146,185 Holek Feb. 7, 1939 2,186,969 Greenv Jan. 16, 1940 2,342,705 Sum-merbell Feb. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 92,726 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1922 651,795 France Oct. 15, 1928 325,159 Great Britain Feb. 13, 1930 519,870 Great Britain Apr. 9, 1940 

